From the Bookshelf of J.R.R. Tolkien…

A Secret Vice: Tolkien on Invented Languages

J.R.R. Tolkien,

Dimitra Fimi (Editor)

Start date: July 1, 2016

Finish date: September 30, 2016

Discussion: Group Reads

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 18 topics — 392 comments total

Group Reads

* Group Read September 2021-January 2022 (No Spoilers)
By Michael · 21 posts · 119 views

last updated Jan 31, 2022 11:38AM

Group Read January-March 2015: The Silmarillion
By deleted member · 5 posts · 128 views

last updated Apr 18, 2023 01:00PM

showing 1 of 1 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Feb 24, 2016 Jenna (Falling Letters) rated it really liked it

Shelves: tolkien, 2017

Review originally published 26 May 2017 at Falling Letters.

The title A Secret Vice refers to a talk that J.R.R. Tolkien originally gave in 1931. He discussed the joys of inventing language and the significant role language has to play in mythology creation.

I had previously read parts of Tolkien’s essay back 2013, when I fulfilled a years long dream of writing about Tolkien for my undergrad degree. The paper I wrote was titled “Retaining Meaning: Translating Tolkien’s Middle-Earth”, and it dealt Review originally published 26 May 2017 at Falling Letters.

The title A Secret Vice refers to a talk that J.R.R. Tolkien originally gave in 1931. He discussed the joys of inventing language and the significant role language has to play in mythology creation.

I had previously read parts of Tolkien’s essay back 2013, when I fulfilled a years long dream of writing about Tolkien for my undergrad degree. The paper I wrote was titled “Retaining Meaning: Translating Tolkien’s Middle-Earth”, and it dealt very much with Tolkien’s passion for language creation. I was pleased to learn A Secret Vice” was being released in similar to fashion to “On Fairy-Stories”, which was released in an independent volume titled Tolkien On Fairy Stories . This book would have been handy to have around during my undergrad!

The talk itself spans 31 pages. A brief “Essay on Phonetic Symbolism” is also included in the book. (The editors theorize that Tolkien may have written the essay to expand on ideas not integral to “A Secret Vice” [63].) A 54 page introduction serves well in providing context for the actual essay. Not just padding, the introduction explores the social and cultural context in which Tolkien was writing as well characteristics of his invented languages. A 15 page coda after the essay and manuscripts titled “The Reception and Legacy of Tolkien’s Invented Languages” continues the style of the introduction in exploring Tolkien’s impact. Finally, manuscripts are also included. Sometimes these can reveal a lot about a writer’s development of thought, but I skipped them in this volume.

Originally a talk given to a literary society (xxxi), “A Secret Vice” has a relatively casual and at times self-deprecating tone. Having read so much of Tolkien’s fiction, I find it something of a novelty to read in his own ‘voice’. Fans of Tolkien or those interested in constructed languages will appreciate the sentiments expressed and ideas explored in A Secret Vice.

...more

1 like · Like · see review